Tamale, Dec. 17, GNA - Madam Issah Saratu, the Vice President of the Northern Caterers of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, has alleged that head teachers in beneficiary schools in the Tamale Metropolis had been stealing foodstuff meant for the programme.

She said the head teachers shared foodstuff given by the World Food Programme (WFP) and in some cases gave cooking oils to caterers as their share of the booty.

Mad Saratu alleged that the stealing took place at the end of every school term. She made the allegation on Wednesday in Tamale during a meeting organised by Send-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation under the theme; "Rethinking the Ghana School Feeding Programme in the Northern Region." Mad Sadatu said the stealing had been taking place in eight schools and some of the caterers had been complaining that the practice was unfair and illegal.

She expressed worry about the five percent tax imposed on caterers undertaking the programme saying that caterers were already overstretched financially by feeding pupils above the stipulated number agreed upon due to increasing enrolment.

Mad Sadatu complained that the WFP had also reduced the amount spent per child from GHp40 to GHp29 making it difficult for the caterers to be able to meet the programme's quality and quantity standards.

Mr. Titus Segtub, the Field Officer of Send-Ghana, said the programme in 2010 intended to serve about 1.04 million children in all districts of Ghana with the long-term objective of contributing to poverty reduction and food security through the purchasing of locally grown foods. He said 127 schools and 50,963 pupils were benefiting from the programme while 127 caterers were serving the schools.

Mr. Segtub said there was weak collaboration among the institutions and stakeholders thereby affecting the effectiveness of the programme. He said there seemed to be usurping of roles by bringing the programme under the Local Government Ministry.

Mr. Segtub called for a law backing the programme and there should be effective monitoring to put it on a better footing.

Madam Adama Jehanfo, Senior Education Officer of SNV, said the programme was in transition and that the first phase was coming to an end while preparations were being made to roll out the second phase. She said the Dutch government was one of the largest contributors to the programme, contributing about 40 percent of the total cost adding that problems associated with the programme would be addressed when the second phase begins. 17 Dec 10